the lost words:

seek find speak

This charm of human goldfinches were the extraordinary, glittering, singing presences who guided me and hundreds of others through wood, field and forest, bringing all twenty of the spells from The Lost Words to life... I’ll not forget the incredible, swaggering “Raven”, and the writhingly supple dances of “Otter”. Even in blazing heat, the goldfinches charmed on.

— Robert Macfarlane

An outdoor theatre performance for all ages led by a charm of goldfinches, Seek Find Speak features stunning installations of Jackie Morris’s golden illustrations and Robert Macfarlane's words.

Spells wrapped around trees, words to be discovered in the woodland, and lines of spells perched on branches like starlings.

With sound recordings of the spell poems from some of Britain’s famous voices of all ages and accents, Seek, Find, Speak came alive in the National Forest this summer - and is touring across the country throughout 2018 and beyond.

Wild Rumpus

Robert Macfarlane

"At the heart and origin of The Lost Words is a wish to bring nearby nature – the creatures, trees and plants with which we share our landscapes, but that too often slip from our care or attention – back into the lives and stories of Britain’s children."

Jackie Morris

"It was a simple response to this request, to sign the letter, that seeded our book in my imagination. How could these words be removed? What did that teach children about the importance of wild places. When you work in the world of words, language, such things have power."